As I approach my 80th birthday, I scramble to remain relevant in a world filled with gadgets. I can’t type out an Email address without the computer finishing it out for me, usually, the wrong one! My Email server wants to determine what I should read and direct some of my Email to God knows where. Just let the mail through, for goodness sake. I think at my age, I can determine for myself what I want to read and what I want to send to the recycle bin! It takes a fraction of a second to hit the delete button, but hours to search for the Email in response to an inquiry I made.
Only in the last ten to fifteen years have I found the time and the equipment I need as a blind person, to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. The hardware is great, but apps, RSS Feeds, social media, passwords, user names, tracking changes, inking, and all the other stuff drive me nuts. Just when I think I’ve mastered the internet, they start with new terms: Banner Region, Landmark Regions, Navigation Region, Headers, Links, List Boxes, Flash Starts and Ends, and on and on. Why can I not just go to Facebook, post a notice on my wall, or make a comment, without all of the baloney in between? What’s the difference between a “notification”, a “request”, a “message”, a “post” or a “comment”? Just let me write something, hit send, and let all of my friends read it and reply, already!
However, I shouldn’t complain! I am fortunate that at my age, even though I am completely blind with no light perception, with Lorraine’s help, I can still blunder around the technological advances, the technical terms and the shorthand used by texters. I’m still able to put together a decent story (pardon the ego) and I am learning to better navigate Facebook. WWTI (that’s shorthand for “who woulda thunk it).
I almost forgot. My first novel, Cat and Dog, A Cajun Tale, is now available as an audio book from http://www.audible.com/james ory theall/. Performed by the talented Mike Ortego, the characters spring to life just as I envisioned them when I created the group. You can hear a 15-minute retail sample at the above audible web site. Please tell all of your friends about it.
Christmas is fast approaching. Please consider one of my books (print, Kindle, or audio) as a gift to a special person this year.
Visit my re-vamped web site http://www.jamesorytheall.com/
Thanks for visiting and reading this. I look forward to your comments, but please keep it civil and clean! J.O.T.

One Response to Crotchety Old Man

Dad, we are very proud of your new endeavor here. It’s true that you are above average when it comes to 80-year-old men and technology. When I brag about you at work (OK…OK…when I tell guys that my blind dad could build faster and better) I always get questions about how you do some of the things you do. My response is always “He just keeps trying”. So, keep trying and know that your kids are proud, not only of what you do, but of what you have made us into. You are a great inspiration! Love, Dan, Carol, Evelyn and Lillian.